JALANDHAR: Calling upon all PUnjabis to join hands and revive the ‘sports culture’ in the state Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that the endeavour of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to organize Punjab Khed Mela-2022 would be the first ever such big event in the last 75 years at block, district and state level.
The Minister also announced that a new Sports Policy was on the anvil and it will be unveiled shortly.
Taking stock of preparations of for the upcoming PUnjab Khed Mela which will be kickstarted from Jalandhar, the Minister said that this was the first event organized right from block level, to identify promising players at district and state level. “The vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is to revive the sports culture at grassroots level through this first-ever sports events, in which more than five lakh players are expected to participate in different sports activities. The Aam Aadmi Party Government is passionately working to revive the lost glory of Punjab in sports. These efforts will ensure participation of nearly 5 lakh participants in this event to be commenced from August 29,” he added.
The Sports Minister said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would kickstart the two-month long event with multiple sports competitions at Block, District and State level. He said that the online registration was available on a special portal www.punjabkhedmela2022.in and the online and offline period for various sports disciplines would be remain in process till August 25, 2022. The offline registration can be made in District Sports Officer’s Office. The Minister also directed to ensure maximum participation of students as they had enormous talent and energy, which could be utilized to clinch more medals at national and international level events. He pointed out that the sporting events would be held in various age groups including under-14, under-17 and under-21 besides open groups between the age group of 21 and 40, 41 and 50 & above 50 years of age.
Meanwhile, the Minister also appreciated the suggestions given by the Olympian Surinder Singh Sodhi and Arjuna Awardee Sajjan Singh Cheema. He also took a round of local Guru Gobind Singh Stadium to review the site.
Notably, the Block level tournaments will be held from September 1 to 7 with games Volleyball, Athletics, Football, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho and Rope while District Level tournaments taking place from September 12 to 22 would have games Athletics, Football, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volleyball, Handball, Softball, Judo, Roller Skating, Gatka, Kick Boxing, Hockey, Netball, Badminton, Basketball, Power Lifting, Lawn Tennis, Wrestling, Swimming, Boxing, Table Tennis and Weight Lifting. Similarly, the State Level tournaments starting from October 10 to 21 will include all district level games, plus Kick Boxing, Archery, Shooting, Chess, Rowing, Gymnastics, Fencing and Power Lifting. A call has also been given to school, college and students of other institutions to get them registered on the portal to showcase their sports potential in these events.